Controversy over new military medal

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Defense leaders have created the new Distinguished Warfare Medal to recognize the evolving face of warfare, and it is stirring up controversy across the military community, WPMT reports.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal recognizes the extraordinary achievement of military men and women who aren’t physically on the battlefield, but who have a direct effect on the success of combat.

“The Distinguished warfare medal is something that was created to recognize a new type of combat. These are troops who aren’t necessarily on the battlefield. In fact, in many cases, they are not even on the same continent as the battlefield. But they are still directly involved with that combat nonetheless,” Staff Sgt. Matt Jones of the PA National Guard tells WPMT.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal will sit above the Bronze Star and Purple Heart and below the Distinguished Flying Cross.